KEM offers hope for epilepsy patients

Thane’s Manav Rana starting schooling a bit late – after turning nine. His parents, Archana and Pradeep, kept him away from school as he used to suffer seizures three to five times a day. “We were worried about his safety,’’ said Archana, adding that Manav got his first epileptic fit when he was 18 months old.TNN | November 18, 2015, 08:37 IST

Low protein diet may delay Alzheimer's (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)Mumbai: Thane’s Manav Rana starting schooling a bit late – after turning nine. His parents, Archana and Pradeep, kept him away from school as he used to suffer seizures three to five times a day. “We were worried about his safety,’’ said Archana, adding that Manav got his first epileptic fit when he was 18 months old.

Two years ago, Manav, who is now 11, underwent surgery at the civic-run KEM Hospital, Parel, to control the epilepsy, and it worked so well that he now attends daily school. “Madhav had to take six tablets in the morning and six in the evening,’’ said Archana, adding that he now takes only two. “Doctors said he will be off epilepsy meds within a few months,’’ she said.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which normal activity of the brain’s neurons is disturbed. Patients have spasms, convulsions or loss of consciousness. It affects 11.2 million Indians, including 2.5 lakh from Maharashtra .

While many can control symptoms with medication, some patients need surgery. However, until recently, there was resistance to surgery due to misconceptions about brain surgery. The experience at KEM Hospital shows changing attitudes. The hospital, which started offering epilepsy surgery a decade back, completed 200 surgeries in 2011. It has now completed 445 surgeries.

“Epilepsy surgery has picked up in the last five years. KEM Hospital is, in fact, going to achieve a landmark of 500 surgeries shortly,’’ said Dr Sangeeta Ravat, head of neurology at KEM Hospital, Parel. Neurosurgeon Dr D Mazumdar said epilepsy surgery is now standard and safe. “Neurosurgery at our hospital costs only Rs 5,000 and we have helped many patients.’’

A mobile phone application, Helpilepsy, was launched on Tuesday, World Epilepsy Day. The brainchild of Epilepsy Foundation chairman Dr Nirmal Surya, the free-to-download app will record whenever a patient suffers a fit and send details to the doctor via SMSes. “We have harnessed new technology to make a patient’s life better. The app has information on medication, their side-effects and reminds patient about the medicine schedule,’’ said Dr Surya. Doctors can also see the patient’s medical details on the app